27th March 2015 ... Diurnea fagella and simple rain covers.

It's very quiet around the garden traps at the moment, not surprising as temperatures struggle and remain below average.
Last night was a little warmer at 5.2 deg C minimum, but showers meant placing the perspex trap covers over the two Skinner traps.
Diurnea fagella was 3 weeks later than last year ....

At this time of year I find myself staring at the lighter coloured CLOUDED DRABS, especially the smaller ones, hoping to transform them into LEAD-COLOURED DRABS, although there hasn't been many to stare at so far this year.
The male Clouded Drab pictured below was having none of it though ...

2188 Clouded Drab

Garden traps;-
0663 Diurnea fagella, 1, year first
1862 Double-striped Pug, 1
2187 Common Quaker, 2
2188 Clouded Drab, 1
2190 Hebrew Character, 2
2243 Early Grey, 4

My home made Skinner traps with crude but effective rain covers, 1000mm x 900 mm perspex sheets (4mm), placed on posts fixed to the trap at an angle so that the rain runs off and the moths have plenty of space to enter ... simple. The perspex is pricey though and needs to be weighted down during windy weather (40 to 50 mph gusts will lift them)

Latest garden Moths

Moth numbers are increasing in the garden with the warmer nights although the strong gusting breeze and the large moon are doing their best to inhibit the nocturnal activity.
My garden tally is now 16 species compared to 11 species this time last year.
Common Quaker is now regular in the traps with Hebrew Character, and Agonopterix heracliana along with Emmelina monodactyla make up the majority of the micro catch.

Amblyptilia acanthadactyla was a new addition for the year on 5th March, difficult to spot on the brick wall near the trap.  Tortricodes alternella would have made the photo gallery but unfortunately it got badly crushed between pot and lid so no pic.
Hebrew Character (below)
very common and will be for another month or more

A brace of Satellites on the 6th

Grey Shoulder-knot was added last night (7th Mar)

Pale Brindled Beauty in the egg boxes this morning (8th)

2188 ... Clouded Drab, 8/3/15

8th March 2014 ... Garden latest

The first butterflies were seen in the garden on the 7th Mar, 2 Brimstones and a Small Tortoiseshell.
More were seen  on the 8th along with Bee Flies.
On the mothing front, Common Quaker numbers are increasing and Clouded Drab was added to the garden year list last night (8th)
15 moths of 6 species were recorded last night ...
2 x Agonopterix heracliana
4 x Emmelina monodactyla
4 x Common Quaker
2 x Clouded Drab
1 x Hebrew Character
2 x Early Grey

Common Quaker

Clouded Drab

Garden catch and prototype portable moth trap

Rain has been the price to pay for the warmer weather.
Very few moths in the garden traps
10th April ... 2 x Common Quaker
11th April ... 1 x Clouded Drab

Last nights lone Clouded Drab

TRAP TRIAL
A portable lightweight trap is about to make its debut this weekend in Home Wood.
Trap, lights, control box and battery weigh a little over 6.5 kg. and the trap folds flat to fit in a rucksack making it easy to lug it abroad, or to those places where there is no vehicle access and a generator or even a heavy 24Ah battery set-up would be a little tough on legs and back.
A dusk to dawn photocell means it can be dumped in situ during the day and will switch on and off automatically and although the skinner type trap would get a bit wet during a rain shower, the lights are waterproof so no harm done except for wet egg boxes.
The 2.4 watt lights have been tested with a fully charged battery ( 7 Amp hour, 12 volt ) and were switched off after 14 hours, still as bright as ever.
If successful, it will go in to production ... Watch this space

Prototype Ratface Battface undergoing battery test.

The Wine Race
That jammy sod Matt (Capt. Trappings) has just returned from a 3 week break in the sunny Cayman Islands. Did he slip behind in the wine race ?
Not a chance.
The milder weather started on the day he returned (10th April) after the coldest March/early April since Black Beauty was a foal !
Speaking of dark horses... that Ben Sale has snuck into the lead ..........................

6th & 7th April ... Garden Trap

6 deg C at dusk last night so I fired up the trap/shed lights. I gave the traps a short 2 hour run on Saturday as it was 4 deg at early dusk and bagged a Common Quaker and Agonopterix heracliana before the temperature plummeted to minus 3.
Last night was a little better with two additions to the garden year list ...

7th April
1 Clouded Drab YF
1 Hebrew Character YF
3 Early Grey

Hebrew Character

Clouded Drab

Early Grey

31st March... Another garden rarity !

Overnight min. temp. 0.6 deg... light breeze, clear spells.
Very few moths in the trap this morning.
The usual Orthosias, but the garden first Large Spring Brown was a major surprise....
Common Quaker Orthosia cerasi 4
Clouded Drab Orthosia incerta 1
Large Spring Brown Stultus aprilis 1, Garden first
Hebrew Character Orthosia gothica 1




Common Quaker, Orthosia cerasi



Hebrew Character, Orthosia gothica



Large Spring Brown, Stultus aprilis



Clouded Drab, Orthosia incerta



17th March 2011... The usual

Overnight min. temp. 2.6 deg. calm. low-level cloud, brief shower.
Garden trap results....
Same old...18 moths of 7 species
1524 Common Plume 1 ... Emmelina monodactyla
2182 Small Quaker 1 ... Orthosia cruda
2187 Common Quaker 7 ... Orthosia cerasi
2188 Clouded Drab 4 ... Orthosia incerta
2190 Hebrew Character 3 ... Orthosia gothica
2243 Early Grey 1 ... Xylocampa areola
2256 Satellite 1 ... Eupsilia transversa

Below.... 2 of the 4 Clouded Drab, showing size and colour variation.

Clouded Drab, Orthosia incerta

Below....The other 2

Clouded Drab, Orthosia incerta



* The wine bet took a downward turn as Captain Trappings took great pleasure in e-mailing me a picture of a superb Pine Beauty last night, putting him 3 species ahead.
In 2011,  I recorded Pine Beauty on the same date (17/3)

28th Feb 2012 ... Garden trap results.....

Overnight min. temp.... 8.1deg,  low cloud, fine drizzle or heavy mist.
14 moths of  9 species was a good return with a year first Agonopterix alstromeriana.
A record number of Satellite (4) was nothing compared to the 20+ in Bennyboymothmans garden trap !

Trap results:-
2187.....Common Quaker....................Orthosia cerasi
2188.....Clouded Drab.........................Orthosia incerta
2243.....Early Grey...............................Xylocampa aereola
2256.....Satellite x 4.............................Eupsilia transversa
0688.....Agonopterix heracliana x 2
0695.....Agonopterix alstromeriana, ...  year first
0998.....Epiphyas postvittana
1025.....Tortricodes alternella x 2
1524.....Emmelina monodactyla

Epiphyas postvittana



Tortricodes alternella




Agonopterix alstromeriana



Common Quaker, ...Orthosia cerasi



Clouded Drab, ... Orthosia incerta



Satellite, ... Eupsilia transversa

24th Feb 2011 ... Dribs and Drabs

Overnight min. temp. 2.7 deg. mild early evening, slight breeze.
All moths caught before 7.30pm
A year first Clouded Drab enjoyed celebrity status before familiarity breeds contempt and the host that follow are unceremoniously shooed out of the box at the release point.
Common Quaker must be due anytime now.

Trap results:-

Dark Chestnut x 4
Clouded Drab ... year first
Agonopterix heracliana x 5
Emmelina monodactyla


                                          CLOUDED DRAB ... Orthosia incerta

                                          DARK CHESTNUT ... Conistra ligula

2nd April 2011 ... Lead-coloured Drab (Mis-ID)

Cooler last night but the 40 mph gusting winds over the last two nights had settled down. A new macro for the year list appeared in Skinner#2, Lead-coloured Drab, which is uncommon in my garden having only recorded a single last year. .............................................................................. LEAD-COLOURED DRAB 2185 Thanks Matt and Ben for pointing out my mistake. this is in fact a light CLOUDED DRAB 2188

LEAD-COLOURED & CLOUDED DRAB. Which is now CLOUDED DRAB & CLOUDED DRAB, it certainly demonstrates the size and colour variations.

POWDERED QUAKER 2186

EARLY THORN 1917 Tally:-

5 x Common Quaker

5 x Early Grey

4 x Hebrew Character

3 x Clouded Drab (4)

2 x Powdered Quaker

2 x Double-striped Pug

1 x Diurnea fagella

1 x Emmelina monodactyla

546 moths of 29/30 species (1 awaiting ID) (totals corrected following balls-up)

425 macros of 19 species

122 micros of 10/11 species

22nd March 2011...Garden Update

Another great night weather-wise, with temperatures staying into double figures for most of the evening.
The cloud cover had gone by 22.30 and temps slowly fell to a min of 3.6 deg in the early morning hours.
70 moths of 12 species were caught, which is a very high total for my town garden at this time of year.
............................................................................
ALUCITA HEXADACTYLA, 1288, The Twenty-plume Moth

Another view of this strange moth, showing the wing structure.

A. hexadactyla

MARCH MOTH 1663

CLOUDED DRAB 2188

DOUBLE-STRIPED PUG Totals :-

29 x Common Quaker

13 x Double-striped Pug

7 x Early Grey

4 x Clouded Drab

4 x Emmelina monodactyla

4 x Agonopterix heracliana

3 x Hebrew Character

2 x Diurnea fagella

1 x March Moth

1 x Small Quaker

1 x Chestnut

1 x Alucita hexadactyla *FFY

...................................................

325 moths (234 macro, 91 micro) of 26 species (17 macro, 9 micro)

Garden update 14th/15th March 2011

Not too much to report on the moth front, more of the usual suspects, I need a new species badly !
Here are some of the latest catches and observations............
.....................................................................
SMALL QUAKER 2182

AGONOPTERIX HERACLIANA 688

no shortage of these little micros !

My second one this year....DOUBLE-STRIPED PUG 1862

The inevitable HEBREW CHARACTER 2190

CLOUDED DRAB 2188

COMMON QUAKER 2187

This is what appears to be TROILUS LURIDUS, it has no common name and is similar to the Forest Shieldbug. The smooth rounded shoulders are the fieldmark.

This is the first one to be seen in the garden.

GOLDFINCH feeding on the old seedheads of my SENECIO plants. Contrary to the advice of Alan Tichmarsh, I leave the flower heads ON....well worth it I would say !

Also it is a good foodplant for Cinnabar larva !

The SPARROW TENEMENT BLOCK,

1 - 5 SPARROWVILLE

Biggleswade.

Beds. SG188LL

Constructed by Matt Burgess, this community housing project is now producing a regular supply of young sparrows to the area.

No ! We didn't install TV for them.....that is my old terrestial TV aerial which still runs the bedroom TV.

After risking my neck on a double extension ladder marking, drilling and fixing, there were no tenants until 5 years later in 2008.

For the last 3 years there has been two of the five compartments occupied with up to 3 broods during a year. Plenty of interest this year too, so I'm hoping for another good breeding season.

Another view of the Sparrow des res Garden Moth Totals:-

159 moths of 20 species......14 macro and 6 micro

98 macro

61 micro